SXSW, LLC (“SXSW” “us” or “our”) is proud to produce our family of events in-person including, without limitation, SXSW® Conference & Festivals and SXSW EDU® Conference & Festival collectively referred to herein as the “Event(s)”).
These SXSW Participation and Credentials Terms and Conditions (the “Terms”) apply to (i) you and any individual or entity that you are engaging in a transaction on behalf of to participate in any SXSW Events (“you” “your” or “Participant”), (ii) such Participant’s application for involvement in the Events (“Application(s)”) and (iii) Participant’s registration, attendance, participation, and/or enrollment in the Events, including, without limitation, purchase and/or possession of any SXSW Event entry or access credentials or permissions whether physical or digital, such as wristbands for the SXSW Music Festival and/or SXSW Film Festival (collectively referred to as “Wristbands”), badges, tickets, passes, and giveaways (Wristbands, tickets, passes, permissions and badges are collectively referred to herein as “Credentials”).
NOTICE REGARDING LIABILITY, INDEMNIFICATION, GOVERNING LAW, JURY TRIAL WAIVER, AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER
These Terms contain important information regarding limitations of our liability, your indemnification obligations, the law governing, and mandatory dispute resolution procedures related to, your Credentials, application and/or participation in the Event(s). These Terms also include a jury trial and class action waiver requiring you to resolve disputes on an individual basis and as a bench trial, rather than in a class action lawsuit and/or jury trial.
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- New Credentials. Sections 1-24 herein apply in full if Participant is obtaining Credentials for an Event occurring in 2026.
- Applications. If Participant is not purchasing Credentials and is only applying for a SXSW program, including, without limitation, an awards program, competition, or other opportunity to demonstrate, display or present an original idea, concept or other work, then only Sections 1-3 and 9-24 below apply to Participant.
- Credentials. SXSW, its agents and representatives are the sole creators, sellers and distributors of SXSW Credentials. Any Credentials not created by and legally acquired from SXSW or its authorized agents or representatives will be considered fraudulent and invalid, and subject to revocation. SXSW reserves the right to pursue any and all legal action or remedy available against any person or entity involved in the actual or attempted creation, dissemination or use of an unauthorized Credential.
- Applications. Any application forms, submission requests, proposals or other offers not located on official SXSW channels are not official SXSW applications and will not be considered or fulfilled
- All Credentials are the sole property of SXSW. As always, if Participant violates these Terms (and/or any terms cross-referenced herein), SXSW has the right, in its sole discretion and at any time determined by SXSW, to cancel, revoke, or refuse all transactions with any individual or entity, including, without limitation, the following: Credentials, purchases, and/or hotel reservations made through SXSW. SXSW will not be responsible for any penalty, fee, loss, or expense incurred by Participant that might result from such action, regardless of whether such penalty, fee, loss or expense was foreseeable or SXSW was advised of the same.
- SXSW does not issue refunds under any circumstances, including, without limitation, for Application fees or Credentials transactions. Any and all payments made to SXSW are not refundable for any reason, including, without limitation, failure or inability to use Credentials due to illness, acts of God, public health crisis, disease, virus, pandemics, epidemics, government restrictions or shut downs, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, other natural disasters, wars, riots, insurrections, civil unrest, acts or threats of terrorism, cyber-attacks, government actions, travel-related problems, loss of employment and/or duplicate purchases. SXSW will not issue refunds, deferrals or credits for Credentials that have been revoked.
- If an Event is canceled in its entirety for any reason, then you may defer your Credentials to the next SXSW Event of the same type for which your Credentials were purchased. If an Event is canceled in its entirety for any reason, you further agree that aside from obtaining a deferral credit for your Credentials, you will have no remedy against SXSW, at law, in equity or otherwise, including, without limitation, for a refund of payments made, expenses incurred, or any actual, consequential, or punitive loss or damages of any kind, regardless of whether such loss or damage was foreseeable or SXSW was advised of the same.
- If an Event in its entirety is postponed for any reason, your Credentials will be valid for the rescheduled dates in the same calendar year for such Event. If an Event in its entirety is postponed for any reason, you further agree that aside from your Credentials being valid for the rescheduled dates, you will have no remedy against SXSW, at law, in equity or otherwise, including, without limitation, for a refund of payments made, expenses incurred, or any actual, consequential, or punitive loss or damages of any kind, regardless of whether such loss or damage was foreseeable or SXSW was advised of the same.
- Unused Credentials have no monetary value and cannot be credited to future years or events unless the Event in its entirety is canceled or postponed and you defer your Credentials to the next scheduled Event..
- SXSW will not issue refunds or credits due to failure to redeem a discount coupon during the registration or application process.
- Discounted Credentials prices are based on the date payment is received by SXSW. Prices are subject to change at any time with or without notice.
- Lost or stolen Credentials will not be replaced. If Credentials are lost or stolen, new Credentials will need to be purchased at the full price in effect at that time for a Participant’s continued access to the Events, including, without limitation, showcases, parties and conference content.
- Use of Credentials by anyone other than the authorized individual will result in revocation of the Credentials without a refund.
- Up to twenty-eight (28) days prior to the start date of an Event, SXSW will accept a request to transfer Credentials by changing the Participant name on SXSW EDU and SXSW Platinum, Interactive, Film or Music Credentials for a processing fee of $125.00 USD per Credential transferred.
- Within twenty-eight (28) days of the start date of an Event, the Participant name change processing fee will be $175.00 USD per Credential transferred. Event Credentials are non-transferable after they have been picked up.
- Credentials may not be transferred and name changes will not be made after Credentials have been issued. d. Notwithstanding the provisions above, Wristbands are non-transferrable.
- Events. For security reasons, and to allow entry into SXSW Event(s), Participant must wear, possess and present their Credentials at Events as follows: (i) badges must be on the SXSW-issued lanyard around Participant’s neck while participating in any Event; (ii) Wristbands must be securely affixed to the Participant’s wrist and remain on the Participant’s wrist throughout the SXSW Events; and (iii) digital Credentials for the Events must be presented by the Participant on a digital device in their possession. No other laminates may be worn on the SXSW lanyard for the badge to be valid. If Credentials are not worn or presented correctly by a Participant, SXSW reserves the right to deny that Participant’s entry into SXSW Events.
- Participant is strictly prohibited from copying, republishing, downloading, transmitting, modifying, renting, leasing, loaning, selling, assigning, distributing, recording, licensing, sublicensing, reverse engineering, or creating any derivative works based on any content delivered by SXSW as part of the Events, or otherwise using any Event content in a manner that does not comply with these Terms, the SXSW Terms of Use, any applicable laws or regulations, or other content usage guidelines provided by SXSW in writing, unless Participant has obtained express permission from SXSW and any applicable rightsholder(s). Any Participant found in violation of this or any other provision of the SXSW Terms of Use (available here: https://www.sxsw.com/terms-of-use/) or the SXSW EDU Terms of Use (available here: https://www.sxswedu.com/terms-of-use/) will be subject to any and all legal remedies available to SXSW and/or any applicable rightsholder(s) of the content at issue.
- Participant agrees to not use any device, software, internet site, web-based service, or other means to remove, alter, bypass, avoid, interfere with, or circumvent any copyright, trademark, or other proprietary notices marked on the Event content or any digital rights management mechanism, device, or other content protection or access control measure associated with the Event content, including, without limitation, any applicable geo-filtering mechanisms.
- Participant agrees to the Photo and Video Policy, which is incorporated herein by this reference and applicable to the Event in which Participant is participating or for which Participant is purchasing Credentials to attend. The SXSW Attendee Photo and Video Policy applicable to the Events and is available here: https://www.sxsw.com/attendee-photo-video-policy/ and the SXSW EDU Attendee Photo and Video Policy applicable to the Events and is available here: https://www.sxswedu.com/press/photo-video-policies/.
- CLASS ACTION WAIVER. PARTICIPANT WILL NOT SEEK TO HAVE A DISPUTE HEARD AS A CLASS ACTION OR PRIVATE ATTORNEY GENERAL ACTION OR IN ANY OTHER PROCEEDING IN WHICH ANY PARTY ACTS OR PROPOSES TO ACT IN A REPRESENTATIVE CAPACITY. PARTICIPANT AGREES NOT TO, AND EXPRESSLY WAIVES ANY RIGHT TO, FILE A CLASS ACTION, SEEK RELIEF ON A CLASS BASIS, OR BE A CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. UNLESS ALL PARTIES AGREE OTHERWISE, NO JUDGE OR ARBITRATOR MAY CONSOLIDATE MORE THAN ONE PERSON’S CLAIMS OR OTHERWISE PRESIDE OVER ANY FORM OF A REPRESENTATIVE OR CLASS PROCEEDING.
- JURY TRIAL WAIVER. YOU AND SXSW WAIVE, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, ANY AND ALL RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY LEGAL PROCEEDING (WHETHER BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE) ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THESE TERMS OR YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THE EVENTS.
- EACH PARTY ACKNOWLEDGES THAT THESE WAIVERS ARE A MATERIAL INDUCEMENT TO THESE TERMS AND PARTICIPANT’S ABILITY TO PARTICIPATE IN THE EVENTS.
- Indemnification. Participant agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold SXSW and its affiliates, and each of their respective officers, directors, shareholders, managers, employees, volunteers, contractors, suppliers, and representatives harmless from and against any and all claims, demands and all other liabilities, including, without limitation, costs and attorneys’ fees, made by any third party arising out of or in connection with Participant’s participation in the Events, use of the Credentials, or any violation of the Terms by Participant.
- Governing Law; Venue. These Terms shall be governed by, construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of Texas, without regard to its principles of conflicts of laws. The parties hereby irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States federal and state courts located in Travis County, Texas and agree that any such court shall be the proper forum for the determination of any dispute arising hereunder, including, but not limited to, objections based on forum non conveniens
- Updates to Terms. SXSW reserves the right to make changes to the Terms as posted, so be sure to check back and review the Terms from time to time prior to purchase. Any dispute between you and SXSW will be governed by the Terms agreed to at the time of your purchase or, if you have made no purchase, at the time of your participation or application.
- General Provisions. Nothing in these Terms establishes an agency, partnership or joint venture between the parties, or relationship of employer or employee, between the parties (or between either party and the other party’s personnel). Headings are included for convenience only and will not be used to construe these Terms. In the event that any term or provision of these Terms is held invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect, such invalidity, illegality or unenforceability will not affect any other term or provision hereof (which will remain in effect), and the parties agree thereafter to use their best efforts to substitute a provision of similar economic intent and effect. SXSW may assign this agreement to a third-party at its discretion.